Step-feed device

ABSTRACT

A step-feed device is described, which comprises a ratchet wheel rotatably supported with a pivot on a base plate, a reset spring for biasing said ratchet wheel in its reset direction, a drive lever rockably supported with a pivot on said base plate, a drive claw pivotably supported by said drive lever so as to be freely rocked and having a tip end engageable with said ratchet wheel, a feed coil for rocking said drive lever, a reset lever rockably supported with a pivot on said base plate and provided with a locking claw engageable with said ratchet wheel at its tip end, a reset coil for rocking said reset lever, a back spring for backing said drive lever, an engaging spring for engaging both said drive claw and said locking claw with said ratchet wheel, and a holding lever rockably supported with the same pivot as said drive lever. As a characteristic feature of the present invention, when said reset lever is set at its reset state in response to energization of said reset coil, said reset lever is engaged with both said drive claw and said holding lever as intervening therebetween so that said reset lever may be held at said reset state and said drive claw may be disengaged from the ratchet wheel even after said reset coil has been denergized.

United States Patent [191 Ochi [4 1 Oct. 14, 1975 1 STEP-FEED DEVICE [75] Inventor: Shikanosuke Ochi, Tokyo, Japan [73] Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Sega Enterprises,

Tokyo, Japan 22] Filed: May 7, 1974 21 Appl. No.: 467,824

Primary Examiner.loseph M. Thesz, Jr. Attorney, Agent, or F irm-Wenderoth, Lind & Ponack 57 ABSTRACT A step-feed device is described, which comprises a ratchet wheel rotatably supported with a pivot on a base plate, a reset spring for biasing said ratchet wheel in its reset direction, a drive lever rockably supported with a pivot on said base plate, a drive claw pivotably supported by said drive lever so as to be freely rocked and having a tip end engageable with said ratchet wheel, a feed coil for rocking said drive lever, a reset lever rockably supported with a pivot on said base plate and provided with a locking claw engageable with said ratchet wheel at its tip end, a reset coil for rocking said reset lever, a back spring for backing said drive lever, an engaging spring for engaging both said drive claw and said locking claw with said ratchet wheel, and a holding lever rockably supported with the same pivot as said drive lever. As a characteristic feature of the present invention, when said reset lever is set at its reset state in response to energization of said reset coil, said reset lever is engaged with both said drive claw and said holding lever as intervening therebetween so that said reset lever may be held at said reset state and said drive claw may be disengaged from the ratchet wheel even after said reset coil has been denergized.

1 Claim, 7 Drawing Figures US. Patent Oct. 14,1975 Sheet1of6 3,912,910

U.S. Patent Oct. 14, 1975 Sheet 20f6 3,912,910

FIG. 2

U.S. Patent Oct. 14,1975 Sheet3of6 3,912,910

FIG. 3

fivmwmmmmmm E US. Patent Oct.14,1975 Sheet4of6 3,912,910

U.S. Patent Oct. 14, 1975 Sheet 5 of6 3,912,910

U.S. Patent Oct. 14,1975 Sheet6of6 3,912,910

FIG. 7

STEP-FEED DEVICE The present invention relates to improvements in a step-feed device for use ina totalizer, a calculator, a score display in a playing machine, etc. I

Heretofore, various types of step-feed devices have been known and in practice, which operate in such manner that in response to each input electric signal a movable body is advanced by one step either rotationally or linearly and in response to. application of a reset electric signal said movable body is reset to its home position to be ready for a subsequent step-by-step advancing motion. However, non of the known step-feed devices was completely free from the shortcomings that the operation is not smooth, that the device is'less durable because of a large impact applied to the component parts upon each step-feed motion and each reset motion or because of wear of frictional parts, and that it is rather difficult to correctly and speedily mount the component parts on a base plate and to properly adjust the relative positioning of the component parts.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved step=feed device of the aforementioned type which is completely free from the abovedescribed shortcomings of the step-feed devices in the prior art.

A more specific object of the present invention is to provide an improved step-feed device which can operate smoothly and which has a high durability.

According to one feature of the present invention, the step-feed device is characterized in that said device comprises a ratchet wheel rotatably supported with a pivot on a base plate, a reset spring for biasing said ratchet wheel in its reset direction, a drive lever rockably supported with a pivot on said base plate, a drive claw pivotably supported by said drive lever so as to be freely rocked and having a tip end engageable with said ratchet wheel, a feed coil for rocking said drive lever, a reset lever rockably supported with a pivot on said base plate and provided with a locking claw engageable with said ratchet wheel at its tip end, a reset coil for rocking said reset lever, a back spring for backing said drive lever, an engaging spring for engaging both said drive claw and said locking claw with said ratchet wheel, and aholding lever rockably supported with the same pivot as said drive lever; and in that when said reset lever is set at its reset state in response to energization of said reset coil, said reset lever is engaged with both said drive claw and said holding lever as intervening therebetween so that said reset lever may be held at said reset state and said 'drive claw may be disengaged from the ratchet wheel even after said reset coil has been denergized.

Since the step-feed device according to the present invention is constructed as'describe'd above, under the state where neither said feed coil nor said reset coil is energized, both said drive claw andsaid locking claw are engaged with'said ratchet wheel, and so said ratchet wheel does not rotate at all while'keeping its stationary state.

sition by the restoring force of said back spring, said ratchet wheel is rotationally driven by said drive claw by an angle corresponding to one tooth. In this way, according to the present invention, said ratchet wheel is rotationally driven by an angle corresponding to the teeth equal in number to the number of input pulses transmitted to said feed coil.

After said ratchet wheel has been rotationally driven stepwiselya number of times, if a reset pulse is transmitted to said reset coil, then the locking claw of the reset lever which has been normally engaged with said ratchet wheel until that moment, is disengaged from said ratchet wheel in response to the actuation of said reset coil, said reset lever is engaged with said drive claw to disengage said drive claw from said ratchet wheel, further said holding lever is engaged with said reset lever to hold both said locking claw and said drive claw disengaged from said ratchet wheel, and thus said ratchet wheel is momentarily reset to its home position by the restoring resilient force of the reset spring which has been stored in said reset spring during the step-feed motion of the ratchet wheel. 7

Subsequently, if one input electric pulse is transmitted to'said feed coil after said ratchet wheel has been reset, then said feed coil is actuated to rock both said drive lever and said holding lever, so that the locking claw of said reset lever which has been disengaged till that time is again engaged with said ratchet wheel, and thus the step-feed operations similar to the aforementioned operation can be repeated. 'As described above, according to the present invention, step-feed operations are reliably achieved over a plurality of teeth corresponding in number to the number of the input pulses transmitted to said feed coil, and also if a reset pulse is transmitted to a reset coil, then the ratchet wheel is momentarily reset to its home position so that the subsequent step feed operation can be reliably started.

Above-mentioned and other features and objects of this invention will become more apparent by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view showing one preferred embodiment of the step-feed device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the same,

FIG: 3 is a rear view of the same,

' 'FIG. 4 is a disintegrated perspectiveview of an essential part of the same embodiment,

FIG.5 is a disintegrated perspective view of a ratchet wheel assembly, and

FIGS. 6 and 7 are front views of the essential part of the same embodiment showing its different operating states.

Now describing the present invention in connection to its preferred embodiment illustrated in the drawings, reference-numeral 1 designates a base plate, substantially at the center of which is formed a circular opening 2 (See FIG. 4), and on the back side of the base plate 1 is disposed a print wiring board 4 in parallel thereto and concentrically with to the circular opening 2 via a short cylindrical bearing 3 (See FIG. 2), the print wiring board 4 being integrally secured to the base plate 1 via a connecting piece 5.

In the circular opening 2 and the bearing 3 is rotatably fitted a main shaft 6 illustrated in FIG. 5, a ratchet wheel 10 is fitted around a hexagonal prism portion 7 of the main shaft 6, to a threaded bore 12 provided in a sleeve 11 of the ratchet wheel is mated a setscrew not shown for fixedly securing the ratchet wheel 10 to the main shaft 6, to a parallel notch portion 8 of the main shaft 6 is fitted a wiper 13 made of an electrically insulating material, and to a threaded portion 9 of the main shaft 6 is mated a nut 14, so that upon rotationally driving the ratchet wheel 10 the wiper 13 can be also rotationally driven integrally with the ratchet wheel 10.

In addition, around a sleeve 11 of the ratchet wheel 10 is loosely fitted a coil spring 15, which is fixedly mounted to the sleeve 11 by means of a washer 16 and a retaining ring 18 to be fitted in an annular groove 17 on the main shaft 6, one end of the spring being engaged with an opening 19 in the ratchet wheel 10, while the other end of the spring being engaged with a pivot 20 projecting from the base plate 1 at right angles thereto.

Still further, around a pivot 21 projecting from the base plate 1 at right angles thereto are rockably fitted a drive lever 22 and a holding lever 23, and a drive claw 25 is rockably supported with a pin 24 at the tip end of the drive lever 22.

As best seen in FIG. 4, in the proximity of the lower end of the drive lever 22 are provided two mounting holes 26 in the base plate at a predetermined interval therebetween, a stopper 27 is cut and erected and screwed bores 28 are provided on the right hand of the mounting holes 26. After mounting claws 31 of a coil bracket having a feed coil 29 integrally mounted thereon have been fitted in the mounting holes 26, screws 34 are passed through openings 32 of the bracket 30 and mated to the threaded bores 28. Then the feed coil 29 is fixedly mounted on the base plate 1.

On an outer circumferential surface of a plunger 33 of the feed coil 29 which is rotatably coupled to the lower end of the drive lever 22 with a pin 35, is applied a Teflon coating. Therefore, the plunger 33 can smoothly and lightly slide along the internal bore of the feed coil 29 without fitting an anti-friction plastic ring around the outer circumferential surface of the plunger as is the case with the conventional solenoid coils, so that the outer diameter of the plunger 33 can be designed larger than the conventional ones to enhance the attractive force of the solenoid coil.

In addition, a stopper 36 is cut and erected from the base plate 1, so that the drive lever 22 abuts against the stopper 36 (See FIG. 1) and thereby it is restricted not to further rock in the clockwise direction.

Still further, a tension spring 39 is stretched between a projection 37 which is cut and erected from the base plate 1 and a protrusion 38 provided at the lower end of the holding lever 23.

Also a reset lever 40 is rockably fitted around the pivot 20, and the reset lever 40 is provided with a locking claw 41 at its tip end, and provided with an engaging arm 44 that is engageable with an upper bent piece 42 of the drive claw 25 as well as an upper bent piece 43 of the holding lever 23.

An engaging spring 47 is stretched between an upper projection 45 of the drive lever 22 and an upper central projection 46 of the reset lever 40, while a back spring 48 is stretched between the tip end pin 24 of the driver lever 22 and the pivot 20, so that the drive claw 25 and the locking claw 41 are biased by the tension of the engaging spring 47 to always engage with the ratchet wheel 10, and the drive lever 22 is rocked in the clockwise direction by the tension of the back spring 48 until it is engaged with the stopper 36.

A reset coil 49 that is constructed substantially in a similar manner to the feed coil 29, is mounted onto the base plate 1 with the same means as that used for the feed coil 29, and a plunger 50 of the reset coil 49 is rotatably mounted about a pin 51 on the reset lever 40.

On the back surface of the ratchet wheel 10 is integrally provided a projection 52, and a stopper 53 is adjustably mounted on the base plate 1 with screws 55 which pass through elongated adjustable openings 54 in the stopper so that it may engage with the projection 52.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, an arcuated electric collector 56 is integrally mounted on the print wiring board 4, and the tip end of the electric collector 56 is adapted to always make contact with a ring-shaped disc 57 around the wiper 13 (See FIG. 2). In addition, a pair of electric collectors 59 electrically connected to the ring-shaped disc 57 are adapted to be brought in contact with fixed contacts 60 provided on the print wiring board 14 at an interval corresponding to the teeth interval of the ratchet wheel 10, and the fixed contacts 60 are in turn connected to terminals 61, respectively.

Since the illustrated embodiment is constructed as described above, under the state shown in FIG. 1 where no pulse is transmitted to the feed coil 29 and the reset coil 49 and the projection 52 on the ratchet wheel 10 is engaged with the stopper 53, the electric collectors 59 make contact with the first fixed contacts 60a, and so zero signals are transmitted from the terminals 61.

Under the above-described state, if one input pulse is transmitted to the feed coil 29, then the plunger 33 of the feed coil 29 is attracted in the direction A as shown in FIG. 6 to rock the drive lever 22 in the anticlockwise direction, so that the drive claw 25 which has been engaged with a tooth b of the ratchet wheel 10 until that moment (See FIG. 1) is moved along an adjacent tooth c and engaged with the engaging face of said tooth 0. During this movement of the drive claw 25, the ratchet wheel 10 does not rotate at all owing to the fact that the locking claw 41 is engaged with a tooth a of the ratchet wheel 10.

When the input pulse transmitted to the feed coil 29 disappears, the drive claw 25 is moved back rightwardly by the tension of the back spring 48, so that the ratchet wheel 10 is rotated in the clockwise direction by an increment corresponding to one tooth, and accordingly, the electric collectors 59 are transferred from the first fixed contacts 60a to the second fixed contacts 60b to transmit a first output signal from the terminals 61.

As desribed, each time an input pulse is transmitted to the feed coil 29, the ratchet wheel 10 is rotationally driven tooth by tooth to transfer the electric collectors 59 successively onto the respective fixed contacts 60, and therefore, the ratchet wheel 10 is rotationally driven for a plurality of teeth corresponding in number to the number of the transmitted input pulses so that the electric collectors 59 are transferred to the fixed contacts 60 having a number of sequence equal to the number of the input pulses added with one, resulting in an output signal corresponding to the number of the input pulses.

If a reset pulse is transmitted to the reset coil after input pulses have been transmitted to the feed coil 29 several times, then the reset lever 40 is rotationally driven in the clockwise direction as shown in FIG. 7, so that the locking claw 41 which has been continuously engaged with the teeth of the ratchet wheel until that moment is disengaged from the teeth of the ratchet wheel 10. Also, the engaging arm 44 of the reset lever 40 is engaged with the upper bent piece 42 of the drive claw 25, so that the drive claw 25 is driven upwardly to be disengaged from the teeth of the ratchet wheel 10. In addition, since the engaging arm 44 of the reset lever 40 is engaged with the upper bent piece 43 of the holding lever 23, even if the locking claw 41 of the reset lever 40 is forced to be engaged with the teeth of the ratchet wheel 10 by the tension of the engaging spring 47 after the reset pulse transmitted to the reset coil 49 has terminated, the locking claw 41 is prevented from engagement with the ratchet wheel 10 and held in the disengaged state. Accordingly, said ratchet wheel 10 is abruptly rotated in the anti-clockwise direction by the resilient restoring face of the coil spring until the projection 52 on the ratchet wheel is engaged with the stopper 53, when the electric collector 59 are restored to their zero output state.

Under the reset state as shown in FIG. 7, if an input pulse is transmitted to the feed coil 29, then the drive lever 22' is rocked in the anti-clockwise direction against the resilient force of the tension spring 48, and consequently, the holding lever 23 which has its rightward projection at its upper portion engaged with a vertical piece and the right end of the drive claw 25 by the resilient force of the back spring 38, is also rocked in the anti-clockwise direction. As a result, the engaging arm 44 of the reset lever which has been engaged with the upper bent piece 43 of the holding level 23 until that moment, is disengaged from the holding lever 23, so that the drive claw 25 and locking claw 41 are once engaged with the teeth of the ratchet wheel 10 as shown in FIG. 6, and then after the input pulse has disappeared, the drive lever is restored to its home position while rotating the ratchet wheel by one tooth as shown in FIG. 1. Then, the first output signal is transmitted from the terminals 61 of the print wiring board 4, and the step-feed device is ready to further operate in response to reception of a second and subsequent input pulses.

In the illustrated embodiment, the operation of the step-feed device is very smooth and reliable, because of the fact that the holding lever 23 is provided separately from the drive lever 22 and the drive claw 25, the engaging arm 44 of the reset lever 40 being engaged with the holding lever 23, and the upper bent piece 42 of the drive claw 25 is adapted to be pushed upwardly by the engaging arm 44 of the reset lever 40. In addition, since a large impact force is not applied either to the drive claw 25 nor the engaging arm 44 of the reset lever 40, there is no fear to cause faults, and the subject stepfeed device has an extremely high durability.

Also, since the ratchet wheel can be formed in a very simple shape as shown in FIG. 5, the cost of the device is very low, and since the rotation of the ratchet wheel 10 is achieved via the metallic main shaft 6, it is hardly worn and excellent in durability.

Since a Teflon coating is applied to the outer circumferential surface of the plungers 33 and 50 of the feed coil 29 and the reset coil 49, respectively, the antifriction plastic ring is unnecessary. As a result, the attractive force of these solenoid coils can be enhanced owing to the increase of the outer diameters of the plungers 33 and 50, and also the plungers can slide smoothly and lightly along the internal bores of the solenoid coils.

Further, since the feed coil 29 and the reset coil 49 are mounted on the base plate 1 in the aforementioned manner, the mounting and dismounting are readily achieved, and once they have been mounted, they can be firmly secured to the base plate to bear against the reaction of the plungers.

In addition, since the stopper 53 is provided with the elongated openings 54, it is possible to freely adjust the relative position of the stopper 53 with respect to the projection 52.

Since many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

l. A step-feed device characterized in that said device comprises a ratchet wheel rotatably supported with a pivot on a base plate, a reset spring for biasing said ratchet wheel in its reset direction, a drive lever rockably supported with a pivot on said base plate, a drive claw pivotably supported by said drive lever so as to be freely rocked and having a tip end engageable with said ratchet wheel, a feed coil for rocking said drive lever, a reset lever rockably supported with a pivot on said base plate and provided with a locking claw engageable with said ratchet wheel at its tip end, a reset coil for rocking said reset lever, a back spring for backing said drive lever, an engaging spring for engaging both said drive claw and said locking claw with said ratchet wheel, and a holding lever rockably supported with the same pivot as said drive lever; and in that when said reset lever is set at its reset state in response to energization of said reset coil, said reset lever is engaged with both said drive claw and said holding lever as intervening therebetween so that said reset lever may be held at said reset state and said drive claw may be disengaged from the ratchet wheel even after said reset coil has been denergized. 

1. A step-feed device characterized in that said device comprises a ratchet wheel rotatably supported with a pivot on a base plate, a reset spring for biasing said ratchet wheel in its reset direction, a drive lever rockably supported with a pivot on said base plate, a drive claw pivotably supported by said drive lever so as to be freely rocked and having a tip end engageable with said ratchet wheel, a feed coil for rocking said drive lever, a reset lever rockably supported with a pivot on said base plate and provided with a locking claw engageable with said ratchet wheel at its tip end, a reset coil for rocking said reset lever, a back spring for backing said drive lever, an engaging spring for engaging both said drive claw and said locking claw with said ratchet wheel, and a holding lever rockably supported with the same pivot as said drive lever; and in that when said reset lever is set at its reset state in response to energization of said reset coil, said reset lever is engaged with both said drive claw and said holding lever as intervening therebetween so that said reset lever may be held at said reset state and said drive claw may be disengaged from the ratchet wheel even after said reset coil has been denergized. 